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Notes from the 2009 F1 Grand Prix in Bahrain

Notes taken during the SPEED broadcast of 2009 Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix, Sakhir, Bahrain, April 26, 2009.

(Sorry for the delayed notes, kids. The pdog has had a packed schedule lately.)

pressdog beer of the race is Molson Canadian. A beauty Canadian beer, eh?

F1 to Sets Optional 2010 Team Budget Cap at a Scant $59 million

The FIA has increased it's optional 2010 team budget cap to £40 million per year ($59 million U.S.). Teams that agree to stay under the cap will get greater technical freedom (primarily no rev limits and driver-adjustable font and rear wings). The cap does not include driver salaries or, for 2010 only, engine costs.

Also, the FIA reiterated that there will be NO REFUELING ALLOWED DURING THE RACE IN 2010 "order to save the costs of transporting refueling equipment and increase the incentive for engine builders to improve fuel economy (to save weight)."

Thanks to @TeamUSGPE for the twitter alert (twilert?).

Read about it on the F1 mothersite HERE.

Danica ... viral ... lord help us

Those clever sons-a-bitches (Term of affection! Simmer down.) at AGR PR have gotten super creative on us. First Danica seems all, you know, well, almost, personable and now the PR effort is growing some imagination. I'm telling ya, that and the Swine Flu are signs of the End Times.

My homey (and Indy 500 roommate), the google-fluent Jeff Iannucci at MyNameIsIRL.com puts it all together in this most-excellent recap.

pressdog Plans to Crash the Gate and the Indy 500

Loose the dogs of war ... vandals at the gate ... human sacrifice, dogs and cats, living together -- MASS HYSTERIA ... I'll be descending upon the Indy 500 this year -- heavily armed with google and other investigative tools -- to bring you some fan-focused jocularity.

What ya gotta do, is go to the race (or at least a race sometime in the season). pressdog sponsor Ticket City have an array of seats available. Check it out and pressdog will get a little bitty treat!

McLaren Gets a Three-Race Suspended Sentence

The Supreme Court of Formula 1 gave McLaren Mercedes a three-race suspended sentence today for being a LIAR after the Australian Grand Prix. It's basically double-secret probation. If they screw up again, they get suspended for three race. Read a story about it with the standard British journalism zeal here.

Brian Barnhart Goes on Record with pressdog

That's right. Brian Barnhart, President, Competition and Operations, Indy Racing League -- the Iron Hand of Justice himself -- has gone on record with pressdog.com.

Click below for the IHJ's thoughts on being the head ref of the league, what he thinks of his nickname, overtaking, the Big 3 and how freaked drivers are right before the drive the highest-pressure, most airway-closing 10 miles of their lives.

A trillion thanks to the stylish, highly skilled IRL PR squad, including Amy Konrath, Arni Sribhen and John Griffin for helping get the IHJ on record in these 100% legit, unedited responses.

Driver Show Customers Love by Using the F-word ("Fans")

When you run any business, it's always a good idea to thank your customers and fixate on getting them to do business with you again and again (and tell their friends).

So extra props to two drivers who I heard using the F-word ("fans") -- who are the customers for the Indy Racing League -- in high-profile situations during race weekend at Kansas. Their attitude is the key to league success.

Deluxe Notes from IndyCar Kansas 2009

Deluxe notes taken from trackside and from the VERSUS broadcast of the Road Runner Turbo Indy 300 at Kansas Speedway, Kansas City, KS, on April 26, 2009.

Welcome to Kansas Speedway, kids. pressdog is in the hizzouse! Welcome also to the 35,000-ish fans who cowboyed up and came out to the track, despite the gray weather and tornadoes forming a necklace of death around the track Saturday night.

These are my people, and pressdog howls for the paying customers! Let's strap in and get this beeeeyotch on the rev limiter!

Sarah Fisher Back on Track with Dollar General

Sarah Fisher may have been a little bit embarrassed and taken some ridicule for breaking down in tears after getting knocked out of the 2008 Indy 500.

But in hindsight, that display of emotion -- and more specifically the passion and hard work that led to the emotional display -- set in motion a chain of events that led to a smiling Sarah Fisher in the pits at the 2009 Kansas Road Runner Turbo Indy 300 Saturday

Live from Kansas 4/26/09 Part 2 -- Windy BEEEYOTCH and the Great Debate

The Firestone Indy Lights race is over. What a Festival of Carbon Fiber that was. Probably approaching half the laps were under yellow. Combo, probably, of the first oval of the year (first ever for some drivers), a track washed clean of rubber and some ass-smacking wind out of the north blowing like a beeeeyotch up into three and four.

Drivers yesterday said that you get a tail wind coming down the back straight, somewhere through turn 3 and into 4 the wind hits you like a bulldozer and just walks the car up the track. I guess you just dive for the white line into three and hope the wind shows up. Problem is it swirls and comes and goes. The wind is stronger today than it was yesterday.